U.S. Data Center Market - Industry Outlook and Forecast 2021-2026

US DATA CENTER INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

The U.S. data center market size was valued at USD 82 billion in 2020 and is expected to cross USD 96 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 3% during the forecast period.

The market is witnessing growth on account of the growing popularity of IoT, the emergence of 5G networks, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the increasing demand for fast streaming of online entertainment content. During Q2 2020, some data center investments halted due to stringent rules imposed by the lockdown. The effect was identified to have lasted for at least a month across major data center development destinations in the US.

The US market witnessed strong growth through investments from self-build facility providers, colocation service providers, and hyperscale operators toward colocating spaces across the country. The contribution from hyperscale self-built data center grew strongly in 2020, compared to 2019, especially with announcements by operators such as Facebook and Google. The emergence of the 5G network serves as a driver to edge data centers. Edge service providers such as EdgeMicro, American Tower, and EdgePresence have planned significant investments across the US in the next few years. In terms of greenfield data center development, Virginia, Texas, California, Illinois, Georgia, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, and Ohio are among the major locations for development/operations in the US.

SNIPPETS

• In 2020, over 130 data center projects witnessed investments across the US, with strong development activities identified in South Eastern and Western US states.
• The US IT infrastructure market expects to reach over USD 72 billion by 2026 due to the increased demand for high-performance and high-capacity infrastructure solutions.
• In 2020, Facebook, Google, AWS, Microsoft, and Apple developed over 25 self-built facilities.
• The US market witnessed around 15 data center mergers and acquisitions in 2020, which are expected to increase over the next few years.
• Cooling systems are likely to reach over USD 3 billion by 2026 due to the need to reduce CAPEX and OPEX, conserve space, and reduce the power consumption by cooling units.
• The use of free cooling techniques, including evaporative coolers, free cooling chillers, air-side economizers, and water-side economizers, is expected to grow in the US market during the forecast period.

U.S. DATA CENTER MARKET SEGMENTATION

This research report includes a detailed segmentation by:

• IT Infrastructure 
• Electrical Infrastructure 
• Mechanical Infrastructure
• Cooling Technique   
• Cooling Systems
• General Construction    
• Tier Standards 
• Geography 

INSIGHTS BY IT INFRASTRUCTURE

The IT infrastructure market is growing due to increased investments in hyperscale infrastructure. Servers expect to generate the maximum revenue, followed by storage and network infrastructure segments. The high penetration of artificial intelligence-based infrastructure solutions due to exponential growth in data generation is likely to increase IT infrastructure demand. The increased adoption of all-flash storage arrays alone with hybrid storage arrays is driving the storage systems market. High-performance operations aid the growth of flash storage systems in data centers that require strong I/O capabilities. The increased deployment of big data and AI applications support the development of all-flash storage systems. The increase in bandwidth requirements, consolidation of data centers, and virtualization are significant factors driving the demand for ethernet port switches, controllers, and adaptors.

INSIGHTS BY ELECTRICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

The US market is likely to witness innovations in power infrastructure solutions to increase efficiency and reduce operational challenges. Datacenter operators such as Microsoft and vendors namely Rolls Royce Power Systems are exploring fuel-cell alternatives to data center generators due to increased concerns over carbon emissions. The diesel generator market expects to grow in the coming years, where fuel-cell could replace these systems by the end of the forecast period.  In the US, the adoption of lithium-ion, nickel-zinc, and Prussian blue sodium-ion UPS batteries will contribute to the data center UPS market growth. The demand for switchgear and monitored and switched is also expected to continue to grow in the region.

INSIGHTS BY MECHANICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

Data centers in South Eastern US adopt free-cooling techniques, including chillers and evaporate cooling solutions. Virginia supports up to 5,500 hours of passive-free cooling methods annually, thereby reducing the application of chillers. On the other hand, Alabama and Florida support around 3,500 hours and 3,000 hours of free cooling, respectively. South Eastern US is expected to observe investment in chillers supporting free cooling. The Western US supports around 6,000 hours of free cooling annually, which is decreasing water consumption. The region witnessed the development of several hyperscale data centers with a power capacity of over 20 MW. Facility operators in South Western US adopt cooling solutions supporting free cooling. Texas supports up to 3,500 hours of passive-free cooling methods annually, thereby reducing chillers' adoption. The region hosts several Tier III and Tier IV data centers with cooling redundancy ranging from N+1 to 2N.

INSIGHTS BY GENERAL CONSTRUCTION

Increased investments in mega facilities and hyperscale projects have boosted construction contractors' demand in South Eastern US. Infrastructure vendors are partnering with major contractors to increase revenue share. The availability of tax incentives and free cooling solutions is increasing the attractiveness for the development of data centers in the South Eastern US. Nevada, Oregon, California, and Utah have witnessed the development of new projects. South Western US is poised for growth in the coming years, with Arizona leading data center investment. Facilities in the Mid-Western US have implemented advanced infrastructure management systems and physical security systems. Several service providers prefer four layers of safety, whereas a few facilities have implemented five or more security layers due to the increasing demand for colocation services. 

INSIGHTS BY TIER STANDARDS

The U.S. data center market has observed a continuous decline in the number of Tier I and Tier II facilities over the last five years because of the increasing awareness of redundant infrastructure. The redundancy of Tier II data centers in power & the cooling systems infrastructure is mostly N+1. Most underdevelopment projects across the US fall under the Tier III category. There are more than 90 projects that were operational or under construction in 2020. Western and South-Eastern US has the highest number of Tier III projects in the US. Most new data centers are designed to be Tier III standards with minimum redundancy of N+1, which can be reconfigured up to 2N+2 redundancy. In 2020, over 30 facilities were built according to the Tier IV standards in the US. Western US leads the development of Tier IV data centers, followed by the South Eastern US and South Western US. 

INSIGHTS BY GEOGRAPHY

In 2020, the South Eastern US data center market witnessed significant investments from enterprise and cloud service providers such as Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, and Google. The region is a developed data center market in the US. Around 35 projects were opened or under development in the region in 2020, with colocation service providers investing over USD 3.5 billion. Virginia is among the largest and the most active data center market in the U.S. It is also the leading market for data centers worldwide due to its strong connectivity through fiber-optic infrastructure. The construction of new facilities in the region is expected to offer new IT opportunities and support infrastructure vendors. The region hosts several Tier III and Tier IV facilities, which are powered with redundant systems. South Eastern US is likely to experience a rise in the number of edge data centers.

INSIGHTS BY VENDORS

The U.S. data center market comprises several IT, electrical, and mechanical infrastructure providers. Product innovations are likely to play a vital role in gaining market share. The US data center market is witnessing intense competition, with solution providers offering innovative products to provide maximum efficiency, scalability, and reliability. Cisco Systems, Dell Technologies, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), ABB, Caterpillar, Cummins, Schneider Electric, and Vertiv are among the prominent IT and support infrastructure providers in the market. The market is witnessing high investments in hyperscale data center development, growing competition among construction contractors to attain million-dollar contracts, as well as strong revenue opportunities for sub-contractors operating across states in the market. 

The U.S. data center market research report includes in-depth coverage of the industry analysis with revenue and forecast insights for the following segments:

By IT Infrastructure 

• Servers
• Storage
• Network

By Electrical Infrastructure 

• UPS Systems
• Generators
• Transfer Switches and Switchgears
• PDUs
• Other Electrical Infrastructures

By Mechanical Infrastructure

• Cooling Systems
  • CRAC & CRAH Units
  • Chiller Units
  • Cooling Towers, Dry Coolers, & Condensers
  • Economizer & Evaporative Coolers
  • Other Units
• Racks
• Others Mechanical Infrastructure

By Cooling Technique    

• Air-based Cooling Technique
• Liquid-based Cooling Technique

By General Construction    

• Core and Shell Development
• Installation and Commissioning Services
• Engineering and Building Designs
• Physical Security
• DCIM/BMS

By Tier Standards 

• Tier I & II
• Tier III
• Tier IV

 By Geography

• US
• South Eastern US
• Western US
• South Western US
• Mid-Western US
• North Eastern US